The 9E, VP9, and the Pico.

Two new guns came in that in not handled before. The Ruger 9E and the Beretta Pico.
The Ruger is an impressive pistol for the money. Its so close to the SR9 that In wondering why one would opt for SR9, with it’s hundred dollar premium. The 9E has all the same features and the same trigger. Great gun for the money. This isn’t like a Smith and Wesson SD9, which is a tangibly lesser gun to the M&P. This is just what it looks like… an SR “light” model.
Ruger is doing it right,
The Pico is an interesting little unit. Its not for everyone. It’s a very tiny little pistol. Small in a “Wow” this is small kind of way. Even though it’s unusually small, You can feel that its quality. Its probably the best made little pocket sized 380 out there. The trigger is very good for a DAO type trigger I like it, I could see myself packing one. Deep Concealment use…
with the new . 380 ammunition out there now, my hesitations about the cartridge has lessened.
My only hang up about the Pico is the magazine release. It’s too tiny. Not easily used, But then again, this isn’t one to be doing tactical reloads with. How it stands the test of time will be interesting.

The disappointment was the HK VP9 pistol. I liked everything about it, but one small detail. Imagine a new BMW M5… with a razor blade in the steering wheel. See, in the HK, the trigger guard has a channel on the inside bottom. I’ve not seen or heard anyone else mention that. But it’s there. On the pistols I’ve looked at, these channels have rather sharp edges that my trigger finger seems to find. This causes irritation and distraction when there should be none. HK Acolytes will of course say “I’m doing it wrong.” BMW M5 with Razor wheel – “Oh, your holding the steering wheel wrong.” No… Because it shouldn’t matter how I hold it. It shouldn’t be there. In the HK that channel shouldn’t be there to begin with. So a pistol that could be a 10 out of 10, is only a 8. There are other small things that detract as well… but that’s for another time.

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7 thoughts on “The 9E, VP9, and the Pico.”

That channel in the trigger guard (VP9) is identical to the P30 series & HK45. I forget why it’s there but I did read something about it when it first came out. I’ll have to check my manual (P30L) to see if there is any mention about it.

There is absolutely no handgun available that fits every person’s hands or even fingers nor adapts to everyone’s style of shooting and if that “design” interferes with you then it just doesn’t work for you…and that’s perfectly ok as you have other choices that fits you better.

Still having a hard time convincing myself to go the hammerless design feature. Not just with the newer Ruger’s beyond the 22 caliber , but with any manufacturers “pistol” design incorporating discrete hammer function. Perhaps a learning curve, or perhaps trust, that has yet to be digested on my part. Condition 2 (condition yellow) is my prefered method for all carry situations, it’s the way I was taught and thus driven into my head very early on as being gods law…period! That being said, one can go from condition 2 to condition zero in a fraction of a second with exposed hammer in both DA/SA, so obviously the same is true for the new designs both DA/SA. The coming of age designs as such with hammerless features almost forces one to run in condition 1 (condition orange/red) intentionally and/or accidentaly which to me is not a good selling point, in particular with the inexperienced. Again, from my perspective, this is a learning curve to overcome and not an easy one to accept on my part, but knowing in full confidence, mechanically speaking, where my hammer is at all times by reactive feel is a number 1 selling point with me as well as the old school added measure of safety. Just my thoughts…..have a great holiday folks! 🙂

This is not to mock Jerry, but to bring up my pondering when I hear the concepts of condition numbers or condition colors.

I was never taught such concepts. My father, with a rather extensive background or growing up in Watts, military, and LE experience was certainly the largest influence on how I was taught and my thought process. Couple that with others with similar life experiences who imparted influence and wisdom on me, I find myself looking at such concepts as being an obstacle.

I was taught more of the concept of being aware and be able quickly judge and react to a situation. As was often imparted on me, anything can happen anywhere, anytime and you have to be able to go from 0 to a million in a heartbeat. You have go from “nicest guy in the world to INSTANT ASSHOLE” in the blink of an eye when it is necessary.

In that regard, I don’t have hangups over whether hammer less or hammered firearms meets a certain criteria as to how or what condition I carry. How it has shaped my preferences is that I prefer firearms that are firstly reliable anytime and every time, and secondly that have the most simplest function and fewest add – ons as possible. To be able to point the gun and pull the trigger without any other manipulations when I need to.

When you’re in a race for your life and 10th of seconds count, why throw hurdles in front of you?

I used to carry and qualified with a Ruger LCP when working, never really “liked it” but it worked as a backup the dept could live with..Recently acquired an early (as in 1940’s build safety under the slide release not rear mounted) Star Model D .380. Very impressive, very small pistol, albeit single action. The precursor to the Colt gov .380. I had some concerns about feeding modern ammo and have not have time to take it out for a spin but it hand feeds even Lehigh Extreme Penetrators like butter. I think some of the old pistols have much merit to them and are over looked today in our quest to “get the best and most modern”.

Jerry’s comments about Condition 2 are interesting. I see this same mindset in arguments about whether striker-fired handguns are Double Action or Single Action.

When the late Col. Cooper (ret.) developed his “Condition” system, it was geared specifically to the 1911, with it’s single action operation. It just so happened to also work with many DA pistols (or DA/SA if you prefer to be redundant).

This system does not really work with striker fired pistols. Due to their fundamentally different manual-of-arms, stiker pistols are either “Ready”, or “Not Ready”. Granted, some have an external safety, so that can mirror C1 and C0, but the only way to get to C2 is to have a Failure To Fire, and C3 isn’t worth talking about in any type of pistol.

When carrying/operating a striker pistol, trigger discipline takes the forefront, replacing mechanical backups. The Condition system relies on mechanical safeties and single action mechanisms. With a striker system, you are red light / green light, and it’s up to the individual to be safe.